Aslan Kambiev's relatives did not agree with the defendant's acquittal

The Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria ignored the testimony of witnesses in the case of the murder of athlete Aslan Kambiev, acquitting the defendant Ruslan Kudayev and recognizing his right to rehabilitation. Kambiev's relatives intend to file a cassation appeal, but cannot obtain documents from the court.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, on February 24, the Nalchik City Court found a resident of the village of Psygansu, Ruslan Kudayev, guilty in the case of the murder of the famous athlete Aslan Kambiev. Kudayev wasfound guilty under Article 108 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (murder in excess of the limits of necessary defense) and released from punishment (1 year 10 months of restriction of freedom) due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution. He was also acquitted of the charge of illegal acquisition of firearms (Part 1 of Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In June, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria acquitted Kudayev.

The Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria published an Appellate Ruling on the criminal case of the murder of the famous athlete, Russian champion in sambo, silver medalist of the world judo championship Aslan Kambiev. The Supreme Court dropped the murder charge against defendant Ruslan Kudayev, terminated the proceedings and recognized his right to rehabilitation.

The injured party intends to appeal the verdict in the Fifth Cassation Court, however, as the widow of Aslan Kambiev, Azais Kambieva, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, they still cannot receive either the verdict or other necessary materials on the case.

The athlete was murdered on February 1, 2022, in Nalchik, in the premises of the "Khukan Place" cafe, where he met with Ruslan Kudayev. The latter had "property claims" against Kambiev's friend, Rustam Bashorov.

The conversation turned into an argument, then into a fight, during which Kudayev shot Kambiev with a pistol. The athlete died in the hospital from his injuries, according to the text of the document.

Ruslan Kudayev was charged under two articles: Part 1 of Article 105, intentional murder, and Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - illegal possession and carrying of weapons.

On February 24, 2025, the Nalchik City Court acquitted Kudayev of the article on illegal possession of weapons, and reclassified the article "intentional murder" as "exceeding the limits of necessary self-defense" and released the defendant from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

The Supreme Court of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic overturned the verdict of the Nalchik City Court against Kudayev under Part 1 of Article 108 - exceeding the limits of necessary self-defense, and terminated the proceedings. The rest of the sentence was left unchanged, that is, the fact that the court of first instance dropped the charge of illegal possession and carrying of weapons from Kudayev was recognized by the Supreme Court of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic as lawful.

As follows from the Appellate Ruling, the initiative for the meeting belonged to Kambiev, despite the fact that the claims for the return of the monetary debt were addressed not to him, but to Bashorov. (As follows from the Ruling, the amount in question was 41 million rubles, which Kudayev allegedly invested in the Bashorovs' enterprise "Veles-Agro"). In addition, the document states that Kambiev also started the fight by punching his opponent in the head and "swung an object similar to a knife at him."

"Kudaev dodged the blow, hit his back against the wall near the sofa and fell to the floor. Kambiev, approaching Kudayev, again swung an object similar to a knife, intending to hit. Then Kudayev, while on the floor, picked up an object similar to a pistol from the floor and, from a semi-recumbent position, fired one shot at Kambiyev, causing him injury in the form of a blind gunshot wound to the abdomen, penetrating the abdominal cavity, which subsequently led to his death," the document says.

The panel of judges concluded that Kudayev was in a state of necessary defense, defending himself from an attack dangerous to life and health, and therefore causing the death of his attacker Kambiyev, by virtue of Part 1 of Article 37 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, cannot be regarded as a crime.

As confirmation that Kudayev is not a criminal, but a victim, the panel of judges also pointed out the presence of "multiple bodily injuries in the head" in the form of bruises and hematomas.

"Kudaev's actions in the current situation should be regarded as necessary defense against a socially dangerous attack by Kambiev, which, according to Part 1 of Article 37 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is not a crime," the document states.

The court ignored the testimony of one of the witnesses, who indicated that Kambiev did not have a knife in his hands; the knife was in the hands of another participant in the fight.

As for the fact that Kudayev had a pistol, the court accepted his version that he found the pistol on the floor at the moment when Kambiev hit him and he fell. The pistol, according to him, was exactly where he fell. Although one of the witnesses testified that Kudayev pulled the weapon from his belt.

The Supreme Court of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic referred to the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, according to which "carrying firearms and ammunition should be understood as their presence in the clothes or directly on the body of the perpetrator, carrying in a bag or briefcase," and if the weapon ended up in the hands by accident, and even if a person was killed with it, there is no liability for this.

One of the lawyers of Kabardino-Balkaria, familiar with the case, on condition of anonymity told a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" that in all his many years of legal practice he has never encountered such blatant cynicism when the courts considered a criminal case of murder.  

"Here someone's "high" interest is obvious. "We can only guess what and who is behind this," he noted.

Recall that in April 2022, Aslan Kambiev's relatives complained to the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Kabardino-Balkaria that investigators had not taken the necessary actions and that the suspect was at large. After the start of the trial, the victims demanded that the accused be taken into custody, but the court found no grounds for this.